El Estudio de la Energía Oscura: Revelando lo invisible

El Estudio de la Energía Oscura (también conocido en inglés como Dark Energy Survey) fue un programa de observación de seis años diseñado para explorar el cosmos con el fin de comprender mejor la energía oscura, un concepto complejo que se desarrolló cuando los científicos se dieron cuenta de que el Universo parecía estar rompiendo sus propias leyes de la física –supuestamente inmutables. Pero, ¿cómo se observa algo que no se ve? ¿Y por qué los científicos están tan convencidos de que realmente hay algo que buscar?

The Dark Energy Survey: Uncovering the Invisible

The Dark Energy Survey was a six-year observing program designed to survey the skies in order to better understand dark energy — a complex concept that developed when scientists realized that the Universe seemed to be breaking its own supposedly immutable laws of physics. But how do you observe something that cannot be seen? And why are scientists so convinced that there is really something to search for?

DESI Early Data Release Holds Nearly Two Million Objects

The universe is big, and it’s getting bigger. To study dark energy, the mysterious force behind the accelerating expansion of our universe, scientists are using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) to map more than 40 million galaxies, quasars, and stars. Today, the collaboration publicly released its first batch of data, with nearly 2 million objects for researchers to explore.

Estudio registra casi dos millones de galaxias, cuásares y estrellas en su publicación preliminar

Casi dos millones de objetos, que incluyen galaxias distantes, cuásares y estrellas, se encuentran en la publicación preliminar de datos del Instrumento Espectroscópico de Energía Oscura (DESI), del Laboratorio Nacional Lawrence Berkeley, en el Observatorio Nacional de Kitt Peak, un Programa de NOIRLab de NSF. Estos datos ayudarán a los investigadores a estudiar la historia de la expansión del Universo con un detalle sin precedentes y explorar otras áreas de la investigación astrofísica de frontera. DESI es financiado por el Departamento de Energía de los Estados Unidos y administrado por el Laboratorio Berkeley.

Nearly Two Million Galaxies, Quasars, and Stars Contained in DESI Early Data Release

Nearly two million objects, including distant galaxies, quasars, and stars, comprise the early data release from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. These data will help researchers study the expansion history of the Universe in unprecedented detail and explore other frontier areas of astrophysical research. DESI is funded by the US Department of Energy and managed by Berkeley Lab.

After Fire and Monsoons, DESI Resumes Cataloguing the Cosmos

In June, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument survived a massive wildfire, followed by rains and mudslides. After cleaning and testing the equipment, DESI collaborators successfully restarted the experiment and began imaging the night sky again on Sept. 10. The survey is creating the largest 3D map of the universe ever made to study a phenomenon called dark energy.

Department of Energy Announces $78 Million for Research in High Energy Physics

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $78 million in funding for 58 research projects that will spur new discoveries in high energy physics. The projects—housed at 44 colleges and universities across 22 states—are exploring the fundamental science about the universe that also underlies technological advancements in medicine, computing, energy technologies, manufacturing, national security, and more.

Successful Start of Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Follows Record-Setting Trial Run

A five-year quest to map the universe and unravel the mysteries of “dark energy” is beginning officially today, May 17, at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. To complete its quest, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will capture and study the light from tens of millions of galaxies and other distant objects in the universe.

Building a Giant 2D Map of the Universe to Prepare for the Largest 3D Map

Before DESI, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, can begin its 5-year mission from an Arizona mountaintop to produce the largest 3D sky map yet, researchers first needed an even bigger 2D map of the universe.

Sensors of world’s largest digital camera snap first 3,200-megapixel images at SLAC

Crews at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have taken the first 3,200-megapixel digital photos – the largest ever taken in a single shot – with an extraordinary array of imaging sensors that will become the heart and soul of the future camera of Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

Lab Researcher and Physics Undergrad Shares Poster Project Honoring Black Physicists

Inspired by the nation’s grappling with issues of race and racial discrimination, UC Berkeley physics major and Berkeley Lab student assistant Ana Lyons turned to art as a way to contribute to the conversation.

Five thousand eyes on the skies: Scientists choreograph robots to observe distant galaxies

Scientists have begun operating the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, or DESI, to create a 3-D map of over 30 million galaxies and quasars that will help them understand the nature of dark energy. The new instrument is the most advanced of its kind, with 5,000 robotic positioners that will enable scientists to gather more than 20 times more data than previous surveys. Researchers at Fermilab helped develop the software that will direct these positioners to focus on galaxies several billion light-years away and are currently in the process of fine-tuning the programs used before the last round of testing later this year.

Drones Help Calibrate Radio Telescope at Brookhaven Lab

Cosmologists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory are experimenting with a prototype radio telescope, called the Baryon Mapping Experiment (BMX). Built at the Lab in 2017, the prototype serves as a testbed for managing radio interference and developing calibration techniques. Lessons learned from the prototype could pave the way for Brookhaven to develop a much larger radio telescope in collaboration with other national Labs, universities, and international partners.

Now Complete, Telescope Instrument is Poised to Begin Its Search for Answers About Dark Energy

Even as the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, or DESI, lies dormant within a telescope dome on a mountaintop in Arizona, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DESI project has moved forward in reaching the final formal approval milestone prior to startup.

DESI Team Prepares for Telescope Instrument’s Restart after Unexpected Shutdown

Despite a temporary shutdown of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument in Arizona – which was in its final stages of testing in preparation to begin mapping millions of galaxies in 3D when the pandemic struck – a variety of project tasks are still moving forward.

Looking Up From the Mountaintop: Q&A with a Telescope Instrument’s Lead Observer

In this Q&A Satya Gontcho A Gontcho, a lead observer for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), shares her experiences at the DESI site near Tucson, Arizona, including evening observing stints to run through detailed checklists and probe how the instrument’s components are working.

Register to Join a Special April 16 Media Tour of a Telescope Instrument that Will Create a 3D Map of Millions of Galaxies

Members of the media are invited to attend a mid-April dedication of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), which is scheduled to begin its five-year mission to construct a 3D map of the universe in the coming months.

Connecting the dots in the sky could shed new light on dark matter

Astrophysicists have come a step closer to understanding the origin of a faint glow of gamma rays covering the night sky. They found that this light is brighter in regions that contain a lot of matter and dimmer where matter is sparser – a correlation that could help them narrow down the properties of exotic astrophysical objects and invisible dark matter.

How to Build a 3D Map of the Universe – and Why

In the 1980s, Saul Perlmutter at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and his collaborators realized that they could use data about supernovae to research the history of the universe. They expected to see that very distant supernovae appear a bit brighter than they would in an expanding universe that wasn’t slowing in its growth.

The data revealed something else entirely.

Deep Learning Reveals Mysteries of Deep Space

The Science How do you determine the measurable “things” that describe the nature of our universe? To answer that question, researchers used CosmoFlow, a deep learning technique, running on a National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center supercomputer. They analyzed large,…